Preparation of Sr adsorptive fiber by impregnating with crown ether derivative for Sr measurement

Horita, Takuma ; Asai, Shiho; Konda, Miki; Hanzawa, Yukiko  ; Saito, Kyoichi*; Fujiwara, Kunio*; Sugo, Takanobu*; Kitatsuji, Yoshihiro  

A Sr-selective adsorption fiber was prepared for rapid analysis of Sr content by using radiation-induced emulsion graft polymerization and subsequent chemical modification. A polyethylene fiber with a diameter of 13 m was first immersed in a methanol solution of an epoxy-group-containing vinyl monomer, glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), and polyoxyethylene sorbitol ester (Tween20) as a surfactant for graft-polymerization of GMA. Octadecylamine was then bound to a polymer chain extending from the fiber surface providing hydrophobicity to the polymer chain. Dicyclohexano-18-crown-6 (DCH18C6) was finally impregnated onto the polymer chain via a hydrophobic interaction between the octadecyl moiety of the polymer chain and the cyclohexyl moiety of DCH18C6. The fiber surface structure, characterized by DCH18C6 molecules loosely entangled with polymer chains, afforded realizes the rapid and selective adsorption of Sr ions with an adsorption rate approximately 100 times higher than that of a commercially available Sr-selective resin (Sr Resin).